


Black Coffee and a Promise

by evildevilgirl02



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: (if you squint), Alternate Universe - 1940s, Alternate Universe - Historical, F/F, Femslash February Trope Bingo, Past Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-28
Updated: 2015-02-28
Packaged: 2018-03-15 15:35:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3452480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evildevilgirl02/pseuds/evildevilgirl02





	Black Coffee and a Promise

“Hey, how’s my favorite radio star?”

Usually, she’d correct Willow to point out that she only made the sound effects, but today was not a usual day.  “Black coffee, please.”

“Oh, what happened?” Willow asked, sitting down across from Tara.

Tara shook her head tiredly.  “Please, after your shift.”

“Hey, darling!  Do you work here or no?”

Willow glanced over at the indignant costumer.  Tara knew it took all of Willow’s willpower not to glare.  “After my shift.”

  
  
  


They walked together in the twilight, arms linked together.  Tara loved it like this, when the city was peaceful and she could be with the woman she loved.  What a shame that it wouldn’t last for long.

“So what was this thing that had you so down earlier?”

Tara gripped Willow’s arm a little tighter, as if that would change anything.  “My brother’s getting discharged.”

“That’s great news!...Isn’t it?”

“Well...no.”  It took Tara a few moments to collect herself enough to keep going.  “As soon as he comes back, he and the family are coming to visit me.”

“Oh.”

Tara hadn’t told Willow much about her family in the year that they’d known each other, and their impending arrival didn’t really motivate her to tell Willow more.

They didn’t say anything more until they got to the apartment.  Willow closed the door before she moved to kiss Tara, softly and sweetly.

“You know, you don’t have to meet them.  I know a little bit about what it’s like to have a family that’s...less than ideal.”

“You do?”

Willow nodded.  “My mom didn’t accept...this.  She thought it was just me being a rebellious teenager.  And she kept psychoanalyzing me with Freud.”

Tara nodded and sat down on the bed, staring firmly at the blanket.  “My family...ever since my mom died...I’ve been like nothing to them.  I _felt_ like nothing.  I _was_...nothing.”

Tara could still hear their taunts and jibes, from the _you’ll never amount to anything_ to the _you’re going to Hell, where you will burn just like Sodom and Gomorrah did_.

Willow sat down next to Tara and held her hand, tracing light patterns along the back of Tara’s skin.

“Tara, you’re not nothing.  You are _everything_ to me.”

Tara didn’t realize she was crying until a tear fell on Willow’s hand.

“Willow, please help me.  Don’t let them take me home.  I-I can’t go back there, I...this is the happiest I’ve been since my mom died...Willow, please…”

Unable to say anymore, Tara put her head on Willow’s lap and silently cried.  She’d finally found a place to just _be_ , and now, it was all going to disappear.  It’s not that she deserved any of this- she’d never deserved anything this good- but it was better than anything she’d ever had before.

Willow rubbed Tara’s back in circles and lightly kissed her forehead.

“I’ve got you, Tara.  I won’t let them take you away from me.  I will do everything I can to protect you.”

Tara looked up at these words.  No one had ever said that to her before.  “Promise?”

“Promise.”

Tara leaned up and kissed Willow.  Something about that promise made Tara feel like she could get through this.

No, not she.   _They_ could get through this, together.

 


End file.
